Public Servants Teeter On The Brink Of Redundancies

Panafrican News Agency, 20 June 2000

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (PANA) - Thousands of civil servants in
Tanzania are currently teetering on the brink of redundancies
following Tuesday's unveiling of a sweeping Public Service Reform
Programme.

The programme, announced by President Benjamin Mkapa, spells out
radical measures aimed at trimming Tanzania's civil service and
putting in place what officials describe as a quality workforce at
a reasonable cost.

Among the first to go will be auxiliary staff who include messengers,
guards, cleaners and gardeners, whose services will now be provided by
quasi-autonomous executive agencies to be managed on commercial
principles.

The first phase of the reforms, under way since 1993, saw government
employment reduced from 354,000 to 264,000 heads but officials are
still uncertain about how many heads will have to roll this time.

The new programme, whose mandate stretches into 2011, seeks to further
improve the structure and level of civil service pay and further
rationalise the structure and functions of government.

Officials say the programme will improve efficiency in the management
of public expenditure, strengthen public service capacity for the
management of economic growth and poverty reduction, and improve the
delivery of services to meet public expectations in terms of value,
satisfaction, and relevance.

Copyright 2000 Panafrican News Agency. All Rights Reserved.
Material may not be redistributed, posted to any other location,
published or used for broadcast without written authorization from the
Panafrican News Agency. B.P. 4056, Dakar, Senegal. Tel: (221)
824-13-95 | Fax: (221) 824-13-90 | E-mail: quoiset@sonatel.senet.net